In the Long Run

Their names are Jessica and Lizzie, and they are 5-year-old identical twins. They bounced into church before the service, and spread out their crayons and paper on the pew behind me.

“Here’s a picture for you!” Lizzie proudly gave me an abstract geometric design.

“Tell me about your drawing,” I encouraged. I’ve heard one should not insult children by saying “What is this?”, because what may not be plain to an adult is crystal clear to them.

Indeed, Lizzie seemed perplexed as to why I needed to have the picture explained to me. But she smiled indulgently, and said, “I start with an X and then I put a circle on it, and color the circle. See?!” It truly was as obvious as she said. She tossed her two blond braids, and turned back to her artwork. “I love to color!”

Her sister, not to be outdone, announced, “I’m an expert at pictures,” and offered me her creation. She needed no prompting from me to describe the “animal with no legs, just gray ears.”

The two girls energetically completed more masterpieces, and generously presented them to other people seated in the surrounding pews.

As part of the Father’s Day service, the twins sang a duet about fathers. They stood at the pulpit in their frilly, summer-flowered dresses--Jessica in pink, and Lizzie in yellow. With big, innocent eyes, and sincere love on their faces, they sang, “God gave me a dear father, so I would remember His love,” bringing a smile, and even misty eyes, to the members of the congregation. Then they bounded down from the stand, and back to their seats to give their daddy enthusiastic hugs.

Would that we all could maintain the guileless honesty and innocence of these young girls! They remind me that with a fresh, unsullied, exuberant approach to life, the simplest of life’s experiences provide us with the joy that our Father desires for us.

Posted by Cyppy at 6:18 PM